Episode 256: Hiro Kanagawa Returns

Actor and playwright Hiro Kanagawa (Star Trek: Discovery) returns to the YVR Screen Scene Podcast to talk about Forgiveness, his adaptation of Mark Sakamoto’s acclaimed memoir that tells the story of a real-life family confronting the atrocities of the past and finding within itself a way forward. Forgiveness tells the parallel stories of Sakamoto’s maternal grandfather Ralph, a Canadian soldier of European descent who spent years in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp, and Mitsue, his paternal grandmother, who was one of the thousands of Japanese Canadians interned by the Canadian government. In the face of tremendous adversity and transgressions, they chose not to live a life of anger but instead to embrace forgiveness—a gift of love they passed down to their families. Forgiveness had its world premiere in Vancouver earlier this month and will open in Calgary this spring. In this fascinating conversation with Sabrina Rani Furminger, Hiro reflects on the connection between past and present, why a play about the past is especially timely in 2023, the role that art can play in moving important conversations forward, and how his experience with Forgiveness has changed how he sees his work. Episode sponsor: Biz Books and The Drama Class